Taro of Zero
by SSJ-Jolt
Summary: One must always be mindful of what One wishes for. When Louise summons a being that fits the description given in her incantation far more literally then she expects she ends up with a Partner far greater, and more of a handful, then she could have ever imagined. With him he brings the Light, and the Might, of a Goddess and magic the likes Halkegenia has never known.
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer:  
** The character of Jolt Kul'duraan and all original content  
relating to that character are the legal copyright of myself;  
Daniel James Wynne  
In accord with Australian and International Copyright laws.

* * *

The Chaosstream. A realm that binds everything in the multiverse, an endless turbulence of light and power. Usually mortal eyes only ever caught a brief glimpse of it's greatness and fewer still ever came to understand the true nature of the realm and what it meant. Usually what time mortals spent within this realm was done while they travelled from one universe to another as this realm served as one of the few safe gateways through the multiverse.

One exception to the rule had no destination and so simply drifted in the spiralling chaos of light and sound. He had spent almost all of his energy and so remained limp and dormant, his eyes closed to conserve what little he had left. His muscular body was battered and bruised, droplets of blood leaking from open wounds that littered his body. What little that remained of his clothes was torn white fabric that covered his lower body and a trio of belts. One supported the ruined fabric while the other two where connected to a pair of sheathes containing swords.

The being's mind was quite and content, completely at ease with the inevitable grip of death that it knew would soon carry him to the afterlife. His few goals in life had been completed, his contract had been fulfilled and his nemesis' lifeless body drifted in the Chaosstream just as he did. He had gotten his revenge and his home could recover from the turmoil in peace, what more could he ask for?

There where no loose ends, his story had finally come to an end...

"Not yet, my child." A gentle feminine voice spoke softly from within his soul.

 _Triplexia...?_ He wondered.

"I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière..." Another, more youthful, voice echoed through the turbulence.

"A new Destiny awaits you." The first added.

"...Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, heed my call..." The younger voice continued.

"As one chapter of your live comes to an end, another begins."

"...Bring forth my servant who exists somewhere in this vast existance..."

"Guide them, and grant them my blessings."

"...Bring forth my divine, beautiful, wise and powerful familiar that Fate grants me!"

The being felt something shift in the Chaosstream, an instance of Control existing where there should have been none. He could feel the controlled energy reaching out through the Chaos to grasp at him, pulling him towards itself, but he was too weak to resist. He had no choice but to let it happen.

An instant later he found his feet on solid ground and the sounds of an ordered reality around himself. His mind deciphered the auditory information to be the aftermath of an explosion along with a myriad of voices coughing and asking if others where alright.

Evidently he had made quite the entrance.

Curiosity overwhelmed him and he cracked open his weary eyes to add visual information to his knowledge base of the current situation. His vision found a disipating dust could and a large collection of humanoids wearing matching outfits, uniforms perhaps? They also all seemed to carry some kind of stick and have an animal of some sort near them... save for two.

A short girl with long pink hair and a surprised expression on her face and an adult with a half bald head.

One thought occurred to the being as his concious slipped away with the last of his energy, _Didn't she say Five Elements...? But there are Six..._

* * *

Dozens of eyes watched as the horrifically injured figure of a boy not much older then them became visible from amongst the dust cloud, then followed in silence as he keeled over and hit the ground limply, face first. The majority found themselves torn on what to think or say.

One part of them wanted to jeer and ridicule the one responsible for summoning a commoner as a familiar. The other was horrified by the sight of the small pool of blood forming around where he lay.

Their teacher, Colbert, was the first to react and was at the boy's side immediately, rolling him onto his side, ensuring his airway was clear and checking his breathing and pulse. After a moment the teacher shouted, "Class is dismissed! We must get this young man to the infirmary at once!"

The pink haired summoner remained stock still until are more well endowed and red haired class mate grabbed her shoulder and pulled her after Colbert who was carrying the boy in his magic at top speed. The words of her classmates where drowned out as he mind focused on what she had seen that the others had not.

A faint glow, blood red irises and slitted pupils.


	2. Awake

The staff at the Tristain Academy of Magic had encountered a great many things in their time. Some had seen wars and others had taken great journeys and seen some very strange things in those journeys. They had seen the familiars of their students, from humble mice and insects and great and proud mythical beast like dragons and sphinxes.

But a familiar being summoned on the brink of death? That was a new one.

Louise and Colbert stood before the Academy physician, whose robes where stained with blood and brow was coated in sweat. Her tired eyes met theirs and she sighed softly, "He will live... though how he managed to cling to life long enough for you to bring him to me I will never know."

"Whatever do you mean Professor Sauveterre?" the balding man asked curiously.

"Excuse me..." Louise interrupted as she stepped past the adults to stand by her newly summoned familiar's bedside. She had finally succeeded, sort of, and she was already at risk of losing that one success.

 _'The least I can do...'_ She thought, _'Is be at his side so it isn't alone should he...'_

"Well..." the older woman spoke, making sure her voice was loud enough for Louise to hear, "He lost a lot of blood. So much so I had to measure how much I was putting back in in litres." She sighed, "Eight litres in all, he lost two after I started putting it into him and stitching his wounds shut. That's the first thing that should have killed him. Then there was the sheer number, and severity of the wounds. Various lacerations and other scrapes. At least five puncture founds, all of them with exit wounds on his back. Both lungs, the intestine and the liver all punctured..."

She shook her head, "The shock of the wounds should have killed him. Yet he lived and his organs responded to healing charms and recovered to a point natural healing will fix the remaining damage." She rubbed her eyes slowly, "And then there are the pre-existing injuries like that scar on his face..." She trailed off.

"The one from his left forehead to right chin?" queried Colbert.

Sauveterre nodded in accent, "Yes, it's an injury from a sword of some kind. Not only is the length of the scar unusual, so is the depth... the strike hit bone." Colbert winced as he realised the kind of force that must have been behind that kind of blow.

"But wouldn't his skull have shattered from the impact?"

"It should have... yet all it did was carve out a gouge in the skull, he is either very lucky or is something not entirely human..." The physician speculated.

The fire mage blinked, "I suppose you have a reason other then just miraculous survival skills to back up that line of thought?"

The medic smiled and tapped her chin, "I do... but I'd like to keep it to myself for now." She took a few steps towards her desk, "Oh, and I'd advise against finishing the summoning ceremony right now. He may be stable and recovering, but the shock of the runes may tip him over the edge..."

Colbert nodded in understanding and turned to the pinkette, "Louise? Did you hear that?"

"Yes, Professor." Came the soft reply.

Nodding his head in satisfaction he turned on his heel to leave the infirmary, "I have to transcribe these familiar runes into the archives and prepare lesson plans for the first years. Louise, will you join me?"

"N-no Professor..." the young girl shook her head slowly, "if I may, I would like to remain by his side...?"

"I understand." Colbert replied and with a nod he left and the room grew quiet except for the scratching of the medic's quill.

Minutes ticked by, then hours. The sun set and Louise didn't move, not even when Sauveterre had the servants bring the young girl food. The girl's mind was just far too awash with conflicting thoughts and emotions.

At long last, after so many humiliations and years of insults and teasing one of her spells had actually succeeded! She had summoned a familiar despite the fact absolutely no one had faith she could manage it!It may not have been the dragon she wanted but a success was still a success...

And yet...

Her familiar was barely alive, beaten, battered, bruised and bloodied. The very act of sealing the contract could kill him. Without the contract runes there was no guarantee he would remain, and if he didn't she would be right back to square one.

His injuries where so severe... it was as if he hadn't cared at all for his well being when he was receiving them. Had he fought with suicidal abandon despite being not much older then her? What maddening fury could drive someone to act in such an insane fashion?

Her life would have been so much simpler if she had summoned a commoner; she could have handled that. Even if the commoner had been an insubordinate, disrespectful knave at least she would have known what she was handling.

But this slumbering boy she sat beside was something different. Those crimson eyes, the very ones he had looked at her with in the brief moment he was concious after she summoned him. Those strange eyes, those alien eyes that had no right to be in the head of a human.

She shivered.

Whatever... no... _who_ ever she had summoned was bound to be like nothing else Halkegenia had ever seen.

The next morning felt herself slowly drift awake from a surprisingly restful sleep, given her dark thoughts prior to falling asleep, through she found herself wondering why she was resting her head against a bed rather then being in the bed. Then she remembered it all; the summoning, her familiar and spending the night silently watching over him.

Sitting up straight she quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes before looking over at him, dreading what she may find.

Him sitting up at meeting her large, innocent pink eyes with his hard, slitted crimson was quite literally the last thing she was expecting. She reacted accordingly.

One 'EEP!' and a jump later she was on the floor rubbing her painful posterior.

"Have a nice trip?" a masculine voice scratched out before the owner coughed painfully.

"You're awake?" Louise responded in shock, "I thought you would still be unconscious... or dead!"

The young man shrugged as a look of sadness crossed his features, "My people where always hard to kill." he replied scratchily before coughing again.

The pinkette blinked before springing to her feet, "Oh! Let me get you some water!" she declared before running to a nearby sink and pouring a glass of water for her familiar. While she did realise this was usually a task given to a servant or familiar she pushed her pride to the wayside; helping the sick and wounded transcended the bounds of Noble and Commoner and was just something you did if you where a decent human being.

As she returned she offered the glass to the young man who accepted it with shaky hands. The young man gulped it down quickly and sighed. As Louise watched on his shoulders seemed to relax as the pain from his throat was washed away.

After a moment of quiet the young man spoke again, this time with the scratchiness gone, "Are you the one that pulled me out of the Chaosstream?"

Louise blinked in confusion and replied, "If by that you mean 'did I summon you with the summon servant ritual' then yes I did. I'm afraid I don't know what this Chaosstream is..."

"Summon Servant?" The young man shook his head, "I've not heard of that. Does it have some kind of cultural or societal significance?"

Louise glared at the young man first, "Tell me what this 'Chaosstream is and I will answer your question."

"Fair trade." The young man conceded, "My knowledge of the Chaosstream is limited. I'm not even sure if it simply a Realm that exists Outside of our Worlds or if it is in fact a living being in it's own right. What I am certain of is that it is a space of infinite chaos that is constantly flowing, as the name suggests. I am glad the time I spent there I did so either concentrating on a battle or unconscious as what little I saw nearly drove me to madness."

Louise considered the young man's response before asking, "So then my summoning saved you from going mad?"

"That's not how this game works." The young man smirked, "Answer my question, then you may ask another."

The pinkette's eye twitched, the nerve of this familiar, talking back to his rightful Master like he was her equal. If he wasn't laying on a bed in the infirmary she would have been whipping him by now. "Fine!" She grumbled, "The Summon Servant Ritual is the most important moment in a young Noble's life. It is the time that he or she summons their life-long partner and familiar that determines their elemental affinity and future education. It also reflects just how powerful the Noble doing the summoning. Now, when I summoned you did I save you from going mad?"

"No." The young man replied with a smile, "I likely would have died of blood lose long before then, something I was fully expecting when I stepped through the portal to the Chaosstream in the first place. As for what you said about Summon Servant..." He let out an impressed whistle, "Lucky you."

"I don't need your sarcasm!" Louise harrumphed and crossed her arms and looks while looking away pouting, "Just ask your question already!"

"When you said that Nobles cast Summon Servant, what of the commoners? Are they banned from practising magic?"

"That's two questions... but I suppose I can let it slide." She shot him a dirty look, "No, commoners are not banned from practising magic. They simply lack the ability to use magic at all." She thought for a moment, "Though I haven't heard of a common born mage using Summon Servant... they are so rare it may simply have never been an issue before."

She looked him in the eye and asked, "Why did you step into this 'Chaosstream' if you knew you where going to die there?"

Louise realised her error as soon as the words left her lips, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet and she shivered as her skin developed goose bumps. The slightly cheeky demeanour that the young man had carried through the conversation vanished as quickly as the warmth in his eyes.

"That... I am not ready to talk about..." He looked down at his scarred and calloused hands, "It... just... I..." His hands clenched and unclenched as he tried to find the words, the hint of moisture shimmering in his eyes. As he began to open his mouth again Louise cut him off.

"I'm sorry!" She placed a hand on one of his, "You don't have to tell me... ask me a question instead."

The young man looked Loise in the eyes and asked, "...What is your name?"

"Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Vallierre, and what is your name?"

"Jolt Kul'duraan, Fylkir of Triplexia and Last of the Taro."


	3. Vision

Not usually one to do this but I feel sometimes I need to do this;

Public Review Responses;

Benji-C: Seventeen Years. That's how long I've had this OC under my belt. Rewriting, redeveloping and redesigning him over and over again. He started off as a half-assed DBZ knock-off from which I got my username (which I haven't changed because it is how my fanfic friends know me, making it quite the Legacy Username). I can only hope those years of revisions have made him into an interesting character to read about.

I also feel I must add that this, and the past two, chapters are nowhere near the quality I usually expect from myself. I don't feel they are good enough, but at the same time I can't find the motivation the make them better...

* * *

"Just remember he's still injured so don't go putting the Familiar Runes on him." Sauveterre insisted as she watched the young man adjust the servant shift he had been provided. His original clothes where shredded beyond repair so she had taken the initiative to acquire temporary replacements.

"Thank you for this Professor." Louise replied with a slight bow.

Jolt's recovery was astounding, it was only the afternoon of the day after he was summoned and all it took was some healing spells and a nights rest for him to be on his feet again. While his rapid recovery had impressed the Halkegenian mages he had taken the liberty to inform them that his healing was normal for his species.

With his clothes straightened and comfortable the young man glanced around before asking, "Where are my Trigger Edges?" As the women looked at him he explained, "I feel incomplete without them."

"Are you talking about these?" Another male voice asked from the doorway. All three turned to look and found Jean Colbert holding a pair of sheathed swords in his arms, "Most fascinating weapons you have here young man. They're made of a metal I can't identify and they integrate what looks to be some kind of repeating musket into the cross-guard."

Louise looked closely at the weapons as Colbert handed them to her familiar and he strapped them to his hips. While the Professor's description was accurate it lacked detail; the weapons where shaped much like one would of expect of a sword, a straight blade and handle with a cross-guard and pommel. The front of the cross-guard was decorated quite elaborately to resemble a dragon with spread wings with a knuckle bow extending down to the pommel that resembled a dragon's tail. Hidden under the dragon's wings was a metal drum with a musket hammer behind it near where the thumb would be while holding the sword. Extending from the cross-guard a short way up the blade was a musket barrel. Each blade was crafted to be wielded by a specific hand.

While the blade, barrel, musket hammer and the drum where all steel grey the dragon like parts and the pummel where all silver. The grips appeared to be made of white leather.

The mage called 'Zero' couldn't help but admit that if she owned a pair of blades as exquisite as Jolt's she wouldn't let them far from her person either.

"It makes sense that you've not seen the metal before." Jolt explained as he inspected one of his weapons, "It's an alloy called Tarodite, and I'm the last living being who knows the recipe." He held the sword up before him, "Every Taro was granted a blade forged of Tarodite upon reaching adulthood."

With a twirl he sheathed the blade with a sharp snap, "But enough about Secrets of a Sacred nature. I think is about time for me to see what strange world I have been summoned to." He said as he began walking out of the infirmary.

The three mages stood staring in surprise as Jolt's casually strolling form departed through the door and down the hallway. A moment later Louise ran to the door and looked down the hallway only to find it empty.

"My familiar has been on his feet for all of twenty minutes and I've already lost him..." The realisation dawned on her, "I have to find him or I'll be even more of a laughing stock!"

The architectural history of Taro was a strange and wild beast. With multiple sapient species spread across it's globe each with several cultures depending on where on the world they lived it was inevitable that technology and building styles would vary wildly. It was for this reason Jolt was having a difficult time placing exactly when a stone and mortar castle such as what the Academy was would have been built and by who.

Certainly not the Taro, they had always lived in seclusion deep in a forest in simple huts. Even the Great Temple of Triplexia hadn't been crafted so much as _willed_ into existence by one of his predecessors.

He also dismissed the Tarodons. Aside from one of his former comrades the four armed Tarodons had always been nomads, roaming the great plains.

The defunct human empire had once used such structures hundreds of years before his time. As one of the few creatures on Taro to lack natural magic they had relied on ingenuity and technology to defend themselves from those that would exploit them.

But what castles they had built had been retrofitted with newer technology like spotlights and quad-cannons. There was also the fact said empire had tried to stop him and his friends by sending Cyber-Raptors and Tyrannoroids after them.

The people of this new world where nowhere near that advanced.

If anything the people of Halkegenia where more like the Demite and Angite peoples. A balance of human ingenuity and strong magics that lead to much slower technological development from there simply not being as much of a pressing need for it.

...Until the Third Imperial Expansion War anyway...

Jolt let this thoughts linger on comrades and triumphs on his old world with one hand resting on the cold stone for a time. But that was the past, Triplexia had sent him to this world for a reason. He was to bring them her light and blessing. The only question he needed to answer was how he was to do that?

"Excuse me." a feminine voice drew him from his musings, turning towards it's origin he gave an acknowledging grunt before taking in her features. Attractive, for a human, with short cut, but well cared for, dark hair and equally dark eyes. She cut a slim figure and wore a maid uniform that, for some reason beyond the displaced man, accentuated her chest. Jolt had no seen many maids on Taro, but from what he knew there seemed little difference between the two worlds when it came to maid uniforms...

The more things changed the more they stayed the same he supposed.

"Would you mind helping out, the Nobles are running us bare and we could use the extra set of hands." She asked with an edge. It took Jolt a moment to figure out why she seemed so aggravated before it dawned on him; the uniform. He was still wearing a uniform of the Academy serving staff. Obviously this young woman had assumed, reasonably, that he was also a staff member... and that he was slacking off.

He briefly recalled the time he and Silvaria had infiltrated the Duke of Rothechild's private airship and responded, "My dearest apologies, I'm afraid I am but a new hireling and know little of the affairs of this propriety. I am sorry to say I lost my guide... if you need aid I will freely give it, simply point the way and it will be done."

Even he considered it spooky how easily he could slip into a false identity.

"Oh!" the maid exclaimed in surprise, "I'm sorry. I thought you where just slacking off!" After a moment she added, "I didn't know we where getting any new hires though..." She looked behind her where Jolt could here dozens of muffled voices, "Though with all the new familiars to feed I suppose it makes sense." Shaking her head she said, "I'm Siesta of Tarbes, we should get going before they get impatient."

"Jolt of Taro." He replied smoothly, "I doubt you have heard of it; I've journeyed quite a long distance." He added conversationally, heading off questions before Siesta could think to ask them, "Travelling can be quite expensive, and I'm only my last few coins, so here I am." He lied.

"With the waiting list of applicants as long as it is?" Siesta asked curiously.

"Short term employment. Apparently I was the first they have had apply saying I only want to work long enough to get paid once then be on my way. Someone obviously thought 'what's the harm' and fast tracked me." Another lie.

Siesta nodded in understanding, "They wouldn't even need to mark you in the books if you are only working that short of a time. They get an extra hand to work for a time and none of the taxes to pay."

"Win-win." Jolt added.

The two walked in silence for a few moments before Siesta asked, "So why are you armed?"

Jolt blinked, ' _Crapbaskets._ ' before reaching a hand down to grip one of his swords. Depending on what she did in the next few seconds this young woman my find herself a corpse.

"Are you to help with security? I suppose as a traveller you would be well versed in how to defend yourself." Siesta asked, oblivious to how close she was to her demise.

Jolt relaxed immediately, "Yes, I'm not armoured because my style relies on mobility and I sold the suitable armour several days ago to pay for food." This time it wasn't a complete lie, he had possessed specialised armour but it had been ruined in when he fought in the Chaosstream. The pieces where likely still floating through that swirling void.

Siesta chuckled and smiled, "It'll be nice to know someone so polite is keeping me safe, if even for only a little while."

Jolt smiled as well, "I'll be sure to ride in on a white horse to save the day should anything happen." He joked.

"So what's the story with your eyes?"

' _CRAPBASKETS_.'

Louise was fuming, she had been running around the halls looking for her wayward familiar while trying to avoid being scene by her peers. So far she had had no luck at all. It would have been so much easier if she could have just finished the ritual and bound him with familiar runes so she could just look through his eyes and find landmarks to navigate with. But no, he was too injured for that apparently.

Why did doctors never give you the advice you wanted?

It was as bad as the time that commoner doctor had recommended calcium and fatty foods to grow taller and bustier.

Turning another corner she did a double take in shock and slid to a wobbly stop on the edge of a cliff over looking a pool of lava. Naturally she was completely unable to process how she could have been in a perfectly safe academy one moment and in life threatening peril the next.

However the part of her mind trying to figure that out was shouted down by the part focused on looking at an outcropping of rock not far from her, on which stood an early teen boy wielding a pair of swords that looked remarkably like those of her familiar, only without the musket components. It took her another moment that the boy looked remarkably like her familiar, only younger, in fact she was certain it was a younger version of her familiar.

His hair was shorter and better cared for, he wore white pants and a white jacket with a black shirt underneath and a red sash around his waist. He also lacked the scars on his features that he would have by the time Louise would meet him. His stance was balanced, ready to defend or attack at a moment's notice.

He was also standing near the end of the outcropping facing towards where the outcropping started.

As Louise looked towards where her future familiar was looking her jaw fell loose. Blocking her future familiar's route to safety was a large dragon with crimson scales. She was even more shocked when a booming chuckle echoed from it's throat, "Well little Taro, it looks to be that you are at the end of your time on this world. Becoming King will be a simple affair with you no longer gnawing at my side."

"Well..." the young future familiar replied calmly, "I'm not dead yet..." He then charged at the dragon, both swords held out to his sides. His attack was short lived as the dragon casually extended it's neck and head butted him with a head as large as his entire pubescent body.

Jolt flew back and almost fell off the outcropping, luckily he slid to a stop just short of the edge, but far enough he could look over his shoulder as see the molten rock far below him. The blow also made him lose the grip on his left hand weapon and he could only watch helplessly as the priceless weapon plopped unceremoniously into the magma, "Crapbaskets."

Louise reacted on instinct, pulling her wand out and casting a fireball spell to divert the dragon's attention. However that isn't what happened, nothing did. Louise, who was still trying to process everything else, found herself unable to understand why her magic wasn't working. Granted she was expecting the spell to fail and explode, but even that would have done what she had intended, instead she got nothing at all. She knew she had done everything right, said the right words, and yet her attempt at casting had been little more then waving a stick and yelling...

In the meantime the younger version of Jolt had gotten back on his feet and was looking dragon once more. The great wyrm smirked, "Ready to meet your Maker, boy?"

The young Taro just smiled, "I already have... nice lady..." The dragon didn't care one wit for his words and was already spewing a great stream of fire his way as he added, "She taught me a few things..."

In a flash of white he disappeared and reappeared above the dragon's head where a drill shaped tornado formed and localised itself around the blade of his remaining sword. A little bit of gravity and a downward thrust and the combination of sword and mini-tornado tore through the dragon's skull, killing the beast.

Placing his left hand on the pummel of his sword the young Jolt whispered, "Thank you for granting me your blessing, Triplexia, may your Light shine forever on us all."

An instant later the scene melted away and Louise found herself back in the halls of the Academy. Glancing about it seemed as if barely a moment had passed, though she still held her wand in her hand. "What..." she muttered in bewilderment, "What did I just see...?"


	4. Purify

Jolt was no stranger to killing. He may not have lead a long life, but it had been eventful. He had killed swiftly, a precise, lethal cut before moving onto the next, and he had killed intimately, close enough he could still remember the smell of their hair as he held them close and slit their necks.

Some said that when you lose the feeling of regret from killing you become a monster. By that standard Jolt supposed he was a monster, he had long since become numb to the killing.

It was luck, or divine intervention, that saved Siesta's life. A spark of inspiration lit up in Jolt's mind.

"My eyes?" He replied, any hint of her potential doom hidden from his voice, "It's normal where I am from. When I said I've been travelling I meant it, I haven't seen home in three years and have been on the move the whole time."

"Three years...? That's a long time to not see your family." Siesta didn't see Jolt flinch behind her, "Well we're almost at the kitchen." She added as they approached a doorway from which the sound of several voices and the clatter of cutlery and tableware could be heard, "We can talk more later if you would like? For now we have work to do."

The displaced young man simply nodded and followed the young woman inside the kitchen. Within moments he had been handed a pair of plates and was sent on his way with some instructions.

Luckily Siesta had elaborated on the instructions to account for him not only knowing who he was supposed to be giving the plates to but where in the crowd they would be. As he navigated his way through the courtyard full of teenagers he noticed a few things that he found amused him.

The most prominent was the fact that despite being armed not a single one of the Nobles gave him a second glance when they spotted the outfit he was wearing. Apparently they considered servants so unimportant they gave them no more mind then the furniture they sat at.

If he was his old comrade Fenix he likely could have shivved two dozen of them before they even noticed something was amiss. The thought of Fenix made the displaced Taro think of the thief's wrist-mounted knives and how useful they where. He made a mental note to try and recreate them for use as a backup weapon at some point.

* * *

Louise stumbled around another corner and sighed in relief when she didn't find herself somewhere strange but instead in the expected hallway. So far she had been drawn into two more visions after seeing her familiar's younger self face that dragon...

One had been him and several others in some sort of self-propelled carriage with a repeating musket on the back as they where chased across a desert by metal golems that looked like a cross between an ostrich and a reptile. The other bad been of her familiar and a blue haired boy fighting a much larger boy with four arms. The most striking thing about both visions had been her familiar's behaviour...

They had been devoid of passion and listless. Almost like he felt he had no reason to live or care...

She had come to realise that they where glimpses of her familiar's past, though what had caused such a drastic change from the first to the other two she had no idea.

But even so, she couldn't bring herself to think of him the way she had always thought she would think of her familiar. He wasn't some animal, some beast of burden to do her bidding; he was a person and deserved at least that much respect.

In fact he may just be what she had been needing from the start; her visions had shown him using magic on each occasion. Maybe he knew some way to help her master her own magic?

She hadn't summoned a servant. She had summoned a teacher, she was sure of it.

As she walked down the corridor towards the courtyard where the other students where supposed to be getting to know their familiars the world around her shifted as she was overtaken by a new sensation. Her eyes locked onto those of the being she summoned across the field as pain raked her body.

* * *

Louise's scream of agony drew the attention of everyone present and all eyes turned her way. The pinkette convulsed where she stood and clutched at her head in obvious pain while the youthful inhabitant of the Academy could only look on in horror and confusion.

In the time it took the man she summoned to reach her, with a busty red head and lithe bluenette hot on his heels, a sickly dark aura had begun to enshroud the distressed girl. "Louise!" The young man called out, "Louise! Can you hear me?!"

"IT HURTS!" She cried and then whimpered, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" She grit her teeth before adding, "It's like something trying to get out... and it's trying to rip me apart!" The pinkette then glanced at Jolt before suddenly screaming in renewed agony.

'It's reacting to me?' The Fylkir pondered for a moment before it clicked and what he had been sensing since he had arrived made so much more sense. He raised his arm and blocked the red head as she attempted to rush past him before glaring at Louise and speaking in a commanding tone that wouldn't be out of place coming from a King, "You who Taints this young girl's body! In the name of the Goddess Triplexia I command you! LEAVE HER BODY AT ONCE!"

For a moment nothing seemed to happen and all was silent, even Louise's screaming stopped. Then each and every human present felt their hairs stand on end for a brief moment before the sickly aura that had surrounded Louise leapt into the air, dragging more of itself from the poor girl's eyes, mouth, nose and ears until it formed a massive, shapless mass in the air. Once all of the Taint had left her body Louise fell to the ground, unconcious.

The field was quiet for a moment before the sharp snap of blades being quickly drawn from sheaths filled the air followed by the sight of Jolt leaping high into the air towards the dark mass only to be batted away, sending him sailing into one of the walls. He hit the ground with a grunt a moment later and muttered, "Ugh... should have thought that part through a bit more..."

Above them the dark mass began to condense, taking on form and substance. Gradually it swirled in on itself and gained a definite physical form. An angular face with a sharp nose, smooth shoulders with an ample bust, slender waist with wide hips and shapely thighs. The feet ended in avian talons while the hands where human like right up to the nails which where bony claws extending from the finger tips. The creature's flowing hair was slightly transparent and looked like pure obsidian. On it's back where two small, almost cute, bat wings. It remained unclothed with only swirling dark energy covering it's feminine areas.

Naturally the male students where all captivated by the sight.

Before the female students could react to their drooling male counter parts their attention was drawn back to the demonic creature as it shriek as it was hit by a blast of fire. "Hey! Hooters! I'm your opponent!" they heard Jolt yell followed the sight of a green magic circle with a trigram instead of the usual pentagram appear out of thin air in front of one of the young man's out stretched hands, "Eat this! Gust Arrow!"

As the words left his lips a faintly visible blast of highly compressed air shot out from the magic circle and struck the demonic woman in the face. For a brief moment the stunned creature forgot how the fly and fell to the ground.

"Go! Everyone get out of here!" Jolt yelled and everyone present agreed that was a brilliant idea. The red head that had run to Louise's aid earlier picked up the unconscious girl before fleeing with the bluenette helping.

The demon was quick to rise again and extend her fingers towards Jolt, dark orbs appearing at her fingertips before unleashing ten beams of dark energy that swept around the field as she shifted her fingers. The Taro tried to avoid them as best he could, dodging several as they tore part him but his body was still weak and sluggish. He was hit by three in quick succession and howled through clenched teeth at the pain as they shredded his clothes and burned his flesh.

But he could still stand, he could still fight.

And he still had some Mana left.

"My turn." He growled as he extended a hand and a pure while magic circle formed, "I call upon the Light of the Void! Illuminating Spear!" A brilliant blast of pure light erupted from the magic circle and struck the demon dead centre causing it to scream in pain and stunning it.

Not wasting the opening Jolt charged forward with both his blades held out and chanted, "I call upon the Circle of Nature!" He swung his right hand weapon, the blade glowing orange, "FIRE!" He followed through with the left, the blade looking sharper then it had a moment before, "EARTH!" he brought the right around again, the blade shimmering as it vibrated faster then the naked out could see, "WIND!" He spun and slashed with the left again, a thin line of liquid racing over the blade, "WATER!"

He crossed his arms and brought them up and swung them both in an upward diagonal slash, "The Circle of the Void! DARKNESS AND LIGHT!" He then tossed both blades into the air and clenched his right fist in front of him before pulling it back, "Final Circle!The Primal Circle! THE SPARK..." Light erupted from inside his hand, shining out from between his finger and thumb, "OF THE SOUL!" He roared before throwing a ball of energy from his right hand into the centre of the cuts he had just put in the demon.

He pulled both of his sheaths from his belt and held them out to each side as both of his blades slammed into them seamlessly, "TRIPLEX..." He turned away from the demon and spun his sheathed swords before slipping them back onto his belt, "PURIFICATION!"

The combined energies from the attacks exploded and the demonic woman was shredded, turning to nothing more then dust as her energies where blasted away. As the explosion reached it's apex the excess energies from Jolt's attacks began to gather around a ball of pink energy before glowing brilliantly for a moment.

As the light faded a medallion floated in place of the energies. It depicted a magic circle with a trigram as it's central feature, at each point was a circle, each in turned marked with runes. One had just a single rune, one had two and the last had four. The magic circle was bordered by a wreath of leaves and wings on each side. The entire thing was crafted of gold.

Jolt inspected the medallion while drawing deep breaths before limping over and grabbing it out of the air and laughing softly, "I see... so that's it."

A moment later he was joined by a wobbly Louise along with the two that had assisted her. The red head smirked at him and gave him a wink, "My my, well done handsome. I certainly didn't expect anything from the Zero to be so impressive... If you need help with those burns I'd be more then happy to 'kiss them better.'" She laughed.

"I don't have the energy to yell at you Zerbst so just please stop ok?" Louise said tiredly with a voice that was clearly suffering from her earlier screaming. The red head clicked her tongue but didn't retort.

The young man fell to his rear in clear exhaustion and looked at the medallion before looking at Louise. After a moment he asked, "Hey, Louise... do me a favour and cast a spell. Doesn't matter what spell or at what target... just try and cast a spell."

Pink eyes blinked in surprise at the request, but knowing her familiar he likely had a good reason. With a shrug she took out her wand and aimed it at a random part of the field before calling on her magic and casting, "Fireball!"

Zerbst and the bluenette had already ducked away behind Louise the moment they say the wand come out and braced for the inevitable explosion.

After about a minute all three girls looked at each other and blinked, "What in the word? I know I have enough Willpower left...?" Louise wondered out loud, "I mean... I wasn't expecting a fireball to come out... just my usual explosions..."

"Well this confirms it." Jolt chuckled humourlessly before laying back, "You're magic was of Outsider origin... when I forced that thing out of you it took your magic with it."

Another moment passed in silence.

"WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT?!"


	5. Explanation

A once fearsome floating fortress, the pride of the Imperial military, lay in shattered ruins. The once impenetrable battlements crumbled and broken along with the twisted and warped metal of the once devastating siege guns and artillery cannons. The tattered remains of an imperial flag fluttered on a bent pole, the last hold out of a broken and corrupt system.

A single figure walked among these ruins, her long silver hair billowing in the winds of the wasteland that surrounded the ruin fortress. Her golden eyes glanced around the crumbling landscape for threats or even the slightest sign of that which she searched for.

She paused for a moment touched a gouge mark in one of the shattered walls with a long, delicate, dark skinned finger. She knew the weapon that had caused this damage, though it had been made prior to the fortress' fall. A physical reminder of her heart's desire.

Her attire would have been both strange and alluring to an observer; fit more for a dancer then a fighter. Golden bracers adorned her wrists while armbands of the same material clung to her biceps. Her bust was covered in a strapless red brazier top with gold-plated metal placed in such a way to both accentuate her small chest and provide protection from physical blows.

Her hips where shrouded by a pair of hot pants that walked the line between hot pants and underwear scandalously, held in place by a red sash to which a sheathed sword hung. Her legs where bare save for a semi-transparent set of leggings tucked into her red boots. On her forehead rested a golden tiara with the centrepiece depicting a circle in which a triangle with smaller circle at each point. Around the main circle was a border of floral leaves and a set of wings.

The sword also stood out. It had a white hilt while the hilt, pummel and guard where silver and depicted a dragon, it's tail forming the guard while the wings splayed out behind it on either side of the thin blade. A red ribbon lined with gold and runic markings was tied to the pommel, though it was clearly a later addition.

Although she appeared scantily clad she was as well armoured as a knight in full plate thanks to an enchantment on her clothes.

As the saying went; 'Leave a wizard to brood in a tower long enough...'

Soon enough she stepped out of the ruins and into cratered and torn remains of a field in which the final battle of the way had taken place. The place in which a rag-tag group of strangers turned comrades had faced both the Emperor and his benefactor in a fierce battle.

Little remained to testify of that great clash save for the devastated landscape... and two burial mounds.

One was a carefully crafted angled rectangle with a red cloth lodged between several of the stones. The other was a more haphazard pile covering an actual body, thrust into this mound was a pair of swords with straight, thin blades. Like the woman's sword they had silver pommels, guards and hilts, only these swords had black grips and depicted eagles in the same pose as the dragon on her sword.

The woman gazed at both graves for a moment before walking towards the grave with the swords. She glanced at the grave with the cloth and sighed, "I know he isn't dead... and even if he was." She placed her right hand over her heart, "I... I must find him... my Bondmate."

She clenched her fist in determination, "I swear it to you, I will find your brother..." She started blushing even as she shouted, "And have many many eggs with him!"

* * *

Jolt sneezed and muttered, "I'm suddenly terrified of the future..."

"Please stop moving so I can do my job..." Doctor Sauveterre scolded as her hands glowed with the light of healing water magic. The parts she had already healed looked mostly normal, if fresher then the dark skin around them while the unhealed injuries, namely the massive lines of burned fleshed where still red raw with exposed flesh underneath.

If not for the amazing fortitude of Taro biology the injuries would surely have been worse. The second-degree burns would certainly have been third or even forth degree to a normal human, if not fatal.

Jolt had been herded back into the medical wing along with Kirche, Tabitha and Colbert shortly after Louise's... outburst... about losing her magic. Now his wounds where being tended to by an exasperated Sauveterre while Kirche and Tabitha watched quietly from some chairs, Louise gibbered away inconsolably on a nearby bed and Colbert spoke quietly with an old man and a green haired woman.

After a few moments of relative quiet the old man approached the displaced young man and introduced himself with a smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you young man, I am Osmond, headmaster of this academy. If you are willing I have a few questions for you?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you Archmage Osmond." Jolt replied with an inclination of his head, "I am Joltarabaros Kazaous Kul'duraan, Fylkir of Triplexia." He smiled and add, "I lose nothing by answering you questions, feel free to ask them."

Osmond blinked, "My, such formality!" He laughed and let a grin cross his face, "Relax, this isn't an interrogation. We simply wish to understand recent events." The old man clarified, "Now I suppose with should start with the most immediate matter at hand... what exactly happened in the courtyard?"

The Fylkir nodded and started, "I can only speculate as to why Louise was in the condition she was but I can definitely say this, her Mana Core was Tainted and reacting to my presence. I have a pretty good idea why it didn't earlier and only did in the courtyard, but until Louise can confirm it I'm only working on a guess."

"What exactly do you mean by Tainted?" The green haired woman in glasses asked.

"Her Mana Core, just like the Cores of every magic user I've met in this world, carried the Taint of an Outsider's touch." Jolt explained, bringing surprised expressions to all those listening, "In the case of you all the purity of your Souls is keeping the Taint in check. For Louise there was a second Taint that matched the purity of her Soul."

He glanced over at Louise and added, "When I forced that Taint out of Louise, along with her Mana Core, it used her subconscious, all her fears, desires, dreams and nightmares to take a physical form."

Kirche looked puzzled for a moment, "So that was Louise's ideal form?"

"No." Jolt clarified, "It was a twisted shadow of her ideal self."

"What exactly _is_ an Outsider?" Colbert interrupted.

"A creature of near god-like power. Their powers are always of unnatural origin and Taint anything they touch. Usually when they stumble upon a new world they are mistaken for actual gods and openly worshipped, regardless of if they are good, evil or anything in between." Jolt dictated, "Judging by how the Taint is present in every single Mana Core I've encountered so far I'd say humans original obtained magic through a deal with an Outsider. I also believe Louise inherited her Taint as well, as if she had forged a contract she would have been considerably more powerful... and I would not have been able to be summoned."

"You sound awfully familiar with these 'Outsiders' as you call them." the green haired woman noted.

Jolt nodded, "Very much so... The Taro where created by Triplexia specifically to fight and kill Outsiders." He smirked, "I did exactly that shortly before Louise summoned me."

"So those wounds where...?" Sauveterre started.

"Yes, fresh from that battle."

The medic slapped him hard on the left cheek, "YOU FOOL! You could have been killed!"

Jolt took the slap without even flinching, "That was exactly what I had been hoping for." He looked away from the staring eyes, "I was... in a bad place at that time."

The shuffling of robes drew Jolt's attention. As he looked up he came face to face with Tabitha who was now just inches from him, her blue eyes locked on his red. A single word passed her lips, "Why?"

"DON'T ASK THAT!" Someone screamed, but it wasn't Jolt. All eyes turned in surprise towards Louise who had grit teeth and trembling with barely restrained tears playing at their edges. She whimpered, "Ask him anything... but don't ask him that."

"Louise?" Jolt asked quietly, his gaze turning puzzled.

"I saw it... in a vision just now..." Louise whimpered, "That hill of swords..." Jolt's back straightened in shock, a fact not lost on the older people in the room, "I also... I heard your thoughts... I know what you where feeling as..."

Slowly she rose off her bed and wobbled over to Jolt's side before she collapsed on him and openly started to cry. Jolt gently placed his arms around Louise as he considered her words before speaking up, "That confirms one hypothesis at least..." He glanced at the academy staff and explained, "Triplexia can grant her devoted, and those she wishes to convert, visions of the past to teach and guide them."

"But..." He added, "Sometimes they are too much for the student... but the lessons are always valuable and must be learned..."

He looked back at Louise, "So..." He tapped her on the forehead causing a Triplex Magic Circle to appear on it, "They cannot be erased or locked away..." The circle faded and Louise's crying ebbed away, "But the harshest part, the emotions, can be held back until the student can handle the full brunt."

There was a pause as everyone stared at Jolt.

"Did..." Colbert gawked, "Did you just cast a spell without a focus or an incantation?"

"You mean you can't?" Jolt gawked right back.

Osmond shook his head, "No, all mages need a wand or staff or some other foci to wield their magic."

"So only I, and another should she agree, can use magic by intent alone?" Jolt asked.

"Yes, it would seem so." Osmond replied as he stroked his beard, "And who might this 'another' be?"

Jolt pulled out the medallion he had recovered after the battle in the courtyard and placed it around Louise's neck. Memories from the visions came to the forefront of the pinkette's thoughts and the implications of what Jolt had just done hit her.

"ME?!" Louise bleeted before her vision shifted and faded. Jolt caught her before she could fall and gently laid her out on the bed.

Longueville furrowed her brow, "What just happened? Surely it wasn't that much of a shock to her?"

The young man chuckled, "Oh, that wasn't shock." He looked back at everyone else in the room and elaborated, "She's just meeting with Triplexia herself."

"Huh." Sauveterre suddenly grunted. At Jolt's questioning gaze she explained, "I just noticed that you don't have nipples." Immediately all eyes where on the young man's exposed chest where there were, indeed, no nipples.

"Oh right." Jolt blinked, "Humans have those..."

* * *

Louise opened her eyes to find herself standing in an extremely fertile field, vibrantly green grass all around with a lush bounty of flowers of every colour imaginable and even a few that aren't. Trees grew tall and strong off to her left with some the largest and tastiest looking fruits to have ever graced her young gaze.

Wherever she was Louise knew it to be some kind of paradise, the sort offered to describe the afterlife.

"Sadly no, this is but a dream scape." A wonderfully gentle and loving voice, with a hint of flirtatiousness, said from behind her.

Slowly Louise turned her gaze from the field and had them widen at the vision of pure beauty that they encountered. Her mouth fell open and her knees gave out beneath her as words failed her.

"Greeting child, I am Triplexia. I would ever so like to offer you my blessing... and my magic."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Response to Panzer-12;**

 **The thing with describing heavily scarred characters is the problem of how much detail to go into; Do you keep it brief and keep the story flowing and just let the reader come up with their own description? Or do you describe every single scar, one by one, taking up half a page just on scars?**

 **Obviously I chose to be brief. Mostly out of wanting to maintain flow.**

 **As hinted at in this chapter Jolt's magic is tied directly to his religion, specifically to his Goddess Triplexia. So long as he, and any converts he attracts, remain faithful to Triplexia they can wield her magic. I intend to go into further detail into how it works in later chapters so be patient... I'm not about to go spoiling my own plot points.**

 **Indeed, Jolt's swords do incorporate revolvers into them. What you described (I think) is precisely why he made them that way; a level of unpredictability and adaptability in combat to overcome any foe. The only limitation he has right now is the fact he only has six rounds in each weapon and hasn't found what he needs to make more.**


End file.
